Difference between revisions of "Rome Viharo"

From RationalWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Redirected page to Rupert Sheldrake#Rome Viharo)
 
Line 1: Line 1:
#redirect[[Rupert Sheldrake#Rome Viharo]]
+
{{pseudosciencenav}}'''Rome Viharo''' is an American internet troll, conspiracy theorist and [[pseudoscience]] promoter most well known for his [[sock puppetry]] on Wikipedia.
 +
 
 +
==Sheldrake trolling==
 +
 
 +
Starting in late August 2013, the notorious internet troll Rome Viharo, posting under the username Tumbleman<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Rupert_Sheldrake&oldid=570985795#over-use_of_scare-quotes Talk:Rupert Sheldrake] Hover your cursor over the name "Rome Viharo."</ref>, began waging an unusual assault on Wikipedia's [[Rupert Sheldrake]] article.<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Tumbleman Tumbleman's WP user page]</ref> "Tumbleman" claimed he was a "neutral" editor and not associated with Sheldrake, however posts on the TED website in March, 2013 show him arguing in favor of the pseudoscience of Sheldrake.<ref>[http://www.ted.com/profiles/1491664 TED Community Rome Viharo]</ref> His antics on Wikipedia's article Talk page included warning people to assume good faith and avoid making personal attacks - while accusing those same people of being biased and being part of a highly organized skeptical conspiracy. A few new users showed up on the Talk page, and oddly, their only post was to say that they agreed with Tumbleman. Tumbleman's orchestration of several simultaneous conflicts made the Talk page discussion so labyrinthine that other participants were nearly exhausted to the point of giving up. After finally being nailed for [[sock puppetry]] and disruptive behavior on Wikipedia,<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sockpuppet_investigations/Tumbleman/Archive Tumbleman and his sockpuppets on Wikipedia]</ref> Viharo (posting as Tumbleman) was indefinitely blocked from editing by the unanimous decision of five Wikipedia administrators.<ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Arbitration/Requests/Enforcement&oldid=577570526#Result_concerning_Tumbleman Result concerning Tumbleman]</ref>
 +
 
 +
Viharo is especially well suited to troll Wikipedia. He is listed as Creative Director and co-partner of Zeitghost Media in Los Angeles,<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20131030152437/http://www.yatedo.com/s/companyname%253A%2528Zeitghost+Media%2529 Zeitghost Media] Yatedo company profiles</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20131030145828/http://thezeitghost.wikidot.com/ Thezeitghost.wikidot.com]</ref> a company that boasts the ability to "create thousands of positive blog posts telling stories and distributing ideas" as well as manipulate "100% positive search engine results whilst "sinking" all negative or controversial material out of sight."<ref>[http://www.zeitghostmedia.com Zeitghost media]</ref> Similar to [[astroturfing]], the company's work entails creating the illusion of large numbers of seemingly independent blog comments, Tweets and Facebook posts that serve to drive sales or promote interest in their client's brand. They can basically game Google's system to make something appear more popular in search engine rankings than it actually is. Or flood Facebook and Twitter with comments that look like there's a sudden "buzz" around a product or an idea.<ref>A lucrative new sub-specialty of the public relations industry, this is all entirely legal.</ref> It's no surprise they offer the option to "remain entirely invisible" while performing these services.<ref>[http://www.zeitghostmedia.com/#!your-branding Zeitghost Media: Your Branding]</ref> Viharo also refers to himself as a "futurist." He believes that, in the future, people will govern themselves through social media, and that Google itself may be sentient.<ref>[http://www.googleconsciousness.com/  By Rome Viharo for Google Consciousness] GoogleConsciousness.com</ref> To spread these ideas, Viharo and business partner Maf Lewis attempted to promote an [[internet meme]] they called "Google consciousness" at a TEDx conference.<ref>[http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/TEDxCARDIFF-Google-Consciousnes Google consciousness: Maf Lewis and Rome Viharo]</ref><ref>[http://cogsciphi.blogspot.com/2011/07/overview-google-consciousness.html About Viharo's TEDx presentation] His presentation somehow "rocketed to the top" of the TEDx “most popular” ranking. Oh my! You don't think Viharo's Zeitghost Media team could have had anything to do with those results, do you?</ref>
 +
 
 +
Of course, Viharo has a long history of being banned from at least a half dozen internet forums for sock puppetry and trolling. In 2011, he admitted on the [[JREF]] forum that he'd created a sock puppet account to play tricks on people.<ref>[http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?s=9ae48ef7ed3f572ec527d02d0a548dec&p=7338655#post7338655 TED: Google Consciousness]</ref> He has also used the sockpuppet names Bubblefish, Fujacko and Gnu Ordure to promote pseudoscience, disrupt discussions, and create conflict.<ref>[http://badscience.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24101 Google Consciousness WTF?? is this real?] also see [http://ponderersguild.yuku.com/topic/3617/Tumbleman-Fujacko-banned?page=1#.UmVaL-hwbIV Tumbleman, Fujacko banned]</ref>
 +
 
 +
In October 2013, [[Craig Weiler]] made a series of posts on his blog defending Viharo and alleging there had been a conspiracy to frame Viharo and put him on "trial." Weiler claimed Viharo's sockpuppetry was engineered by skeptics as part of a coordinated plot by [[Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia‎]] to prevent Viharo from editing the Sheldrake Wikipedia article.<ref>[http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/wikipedia-the-trial-of-tumbleman/ Wikipedia: The Trial of Tumbleman]</ref> Sheldrake himself jumped on the "Tumbleman is a victim" conspiracy theory bandwagon by repeating Weiler's claims on his blog.<ref>[http://sciencesetfree.tumblr.com/post/63184238054/wikipedia-under-threat Sheldrake's crackpot rant]</ref> Soon, other crank sites took up the conspiracy narrative, alleging that a vast network of skeptics were controlling all of Wikipedia.<ref>[http://www.realitysandwich.com/how_skeptic_ideologues_control_wikipedia How the Skeptic Ideologues Control Wikipedia by David Wilder] Realitysandwich.com</ref><ref>[http://subversivethinking.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/further-reflections-on-rupert-sheldrake.html Further reflections on Rupert Sheldrake, Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia and the passivity of anti-skeptics] Subversivethinking.blogspot.co.uk</ref><ref>[http://www.mind-futures.com/guerrilla-war-unfair-part-1/ Guerrilla War Unfair] Mind-futures.com</ref>
 +
 
 +
==Footnotes==
 +
{{reflist}}
 +
 
 +
[[Category:Internet kooks]]
 +
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]

Revision as of 19:18, 4 November 2013

Style over substance
Pseudoscience
Icon pseudoscience.svg
Popular pseudosciences
Random examples

Rome Viharo is an American internet troll, conspiracy theorist and pseudoscience promoter most well known for his sock puppetry on Wikipedia.

Sheldrake trolling

Starting in late August 2013, the notorious internet troll Rome Viharo, posting under the username Tumbleman[1], began waging an unusual assault on Wikipedia's Rupert Sheldrake article.[2] "Tumbleman" claimed he was a "neutral" editor and not associated with Sheldrake, however posts on the TED website in March, 2013 show him arguing in favor of the pseudoscience of Sheldrake.[3] His antics on Wikipedia's article Talk page included warning people to assume good faith and avoid making personal attacks - while accusing those same people of being biased and being part of a highly organized skeptical conspiracy. A few new users showed up on the Talk page, and oddly, their only post was to say that they agreed with Tumbleman. Tumbleman's orchestration of several simultaneous conflicts made the Talk page discussion so labyrinthine that other participants were nearly exhausted to the point of giving up. After finally being nailed for sock puppetry and disruptive behavior on Wikipedia,[4] Viharo (posting as Tumbleman) was indefinitely blocked from editing by the unanimous decision of five Wikipedia administrators.[5]

Viharo is especially well suited to troll Wikipedia. He is listed as Creative Director and co-partner of Zeitghost Media in Los Angeles,[6][7] a company that boasts the ability to "create thousands of positive blog posts telling stories and distributing ideas" as well as manipulate "100% positive search engine results whilst "sinking" all negative or controversial material out of sight."[8] Similar to astroturfing, the company's work entails creating the illusion of large numbers of seemingly independent blog comments, Tweets and Facebook posts that serve to drive sales or promote interest in their client's brand. They can basically game Google's system to make something appear more popular in search engine rankings than it actually is. Or flood Facebook and Twitter with comments that look like there's a sudden "buzz" around a product or an idea.[9] It's no surprise they offer the option to "remain entirely invisible" while performing these services.[10] Viharo also refers to himself as a "futurist." He believes that, in the future, people will govern themselves through social media, and that Google itself may be sentient.[11] To spread these ideas, Viharo and business partner Maf Lewis attempted to promote an internet meme they called "Google consciousness" at a TEDx conference.[12][13]

Of course, Viharo has a long history of being banned from at least a half dozen internet forums for sock puppetry and trolling. In 2011, he admitted on the JREF forum that he'd created a sock puppet account to play tricks on people.[14] He has also used the sockpuppet names Bubblefish, Fujacko and Gnu Ordure to promote pseudoscience, disrupt discussions, and create conflict.[15]

In October 2013, Craig Weiler made a series of posts on his blog defending Viharo and alleging there had been a conspiracy to frame Viharo and put him on "trial." Weiler claimed Viharo's sockpuppetry was engineered by skeptics as part of a coordinated plot by Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia‎ to prevent Viharo from editing the Sheldrake Wikipedia article.[16] Sheldrake himself jumped on the "Tumbleman is a victim" conspiracy theory bandwagon by repeating Weiler's claims on his blog.[17] Soon, other crank sites took up the conspiracy narrative, alleging that a vast network of skeptics were controlling all of Wikipedia.[18][19][20]

Footnotes

  1. Talk:Rupert Sheldrake Hover your cursor over the name "Rome Viharo."
  2. Tumbleman's WP user page
  3. TED Community Rome Viharo
  4. Tumbleman and his sockpuppets on Wikipedia
  5. Result concerning Tumbleman
  6. Zeitghost Media Yatedo company profiles
  7. Thezeitghost.wikidot.com
  8. Zeitghost media
  9. A lucrative new sub-specialty of the public relations industry, this is all entirely legal.
  10. Zeitghost Media: Your Branding
  11. By Rome Viharo for Google Consciousness GoogleConsciousness.com
  12. Google consciousness: Maf Lewis and Rome Viharo
  13. About Viharo's TEDx presentation His presentation somehow "rocketed to the top" of the TEDx “most popular” ranking. Oh my! You don't think Viharo's Zeitghost Media team could have had anything to do with those results, do you?
  14. TED: Google Consciousness
  15. Google Consciousness WTF?? is this real? also see Tumbleman, Fujacko banned
  16. Wikipedia: The Trial of Tumbleman
  17. Sheldrake's crackpot rant
  18. How the Skeptic Ideologues Control Wikipedia by David Wilder Realitysandwich.com
  19. Further reflections on Rupert Sheldrake, Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia and the passivity of anti-skeptics Subversivethinking.blogspot.co.uk
  20. Guerrilla War Unfair Mind-futures.com